Announcer: [ over slide ] "The Battle of the World Superpowers" will be delayed tonight, so that we may bring you this message from the President of the United States.

[ dissolve to President Ronald Reagan seated in the Oval Office ]

President Ronald Reagan: Hello! I'm speaking to you tonight about the state of our economy. I regret to say that it's in the worst shape since the Great Depression. It's a complex problem, so I'm going to explan it to you very simply -- just like they explained it to me. Now, here's what a $500 bill was in 1960. [ he holds up a $500 bill ] Today, the same $500 bill is worth... [ he rips it in half ] on-ehalf that much, because of government waste. Who can figure it? To help, I've drawn some simple charts.

[ cut to crude chart drawing ]

Here, you see how Government Spending is running ahead of Government Revenues. And you know what that means: